iPad 3 Expert Predictions on Features: Larger Battery, Improved GPU; but Same Form Factor with No Quad-Core

With February on its way out and March approaching, rumors surrounding Apple's third generation iPad are pouring in heavily.

Since Apple has a track record of releasing its tablets in the spring, speculations are rife that the next iPad is set for a March release. The Cupertino-based tech giant launched the existing iPad 2 in March last year and the original iPad in April 2010.

Here are some interesting and radical predictions by industry analysts and experts on the features that the upcoming version of the iPad is expected to carry on board.

The Apple iPad 3 rumor mill received another boost on Wednesday after a purported iPad 3 back panel turned up at Repair Labs Blog, suggesting that Apple's upcoming tablet will come with some key changes to the device's internals, including more space for a larger battery, smaller internal logic board and a different camera.

When the repair site made a side-by-side comparison of the new component with the iPad 2 back panel, four significant differences popped up. To refer to the photo click here.

A. The alleged iPad 3 back panel has very different mounts for the logic board, suggesting that the shape of the logic will be a major modification in the next iPad.

B. The change with the logic board's shape will allow a larger battery since the width of where the logic board sits appears much smaller on the new component, compared to the iPad 2.

C. The purported iPad 3 back panel also reveals that the camera on the next iPad will be different as well. It is hard to make a judgment just by looking at the casing, but what we can expect is a different camera on the iPad 3 than what we had on the 2, the repair site noted.

D. The final conclusion is about the LCD display. Based on different mounting in the new back panel, the repair site said that the LCD on the next iPad will be different than what we have had before.

According to ongoing rumors, Apple will incorporate a new, high-resolution Retina Display, clocking in at 2048 x 1536, in the iPad 3. Although Repair Labs doesn't confirm that the next iPad will feature a super screen display, it does conclude that the LCD will be redesigned at the very least.

Same Form Factor, High-Resolution Camera, A6 CPU with Powerful GPU but No Quad-Core

Kyle Weins of iFixit, who has a record of rightful predictions on Apple devices, has shared his predictions on what the next iPad will look like with CIO.com.

For starters, Weins predicted even before the launch of the iPhone 4S that the device won't run on 4G networks since the 4G chipsets were woefully power-inefficient. He also predicted that the iPad 2 would feature more RAM, a dual-core chip, but lack higher resolution, CIO.com reported.

Weins told CIO.com that the iPad 3 will feature basically the same form factor but with double the screen resolution. A Retina display, or four times the pixels, would be the goal.

According to him, the iPad 3 might also sport a high-resolution camera. Weins' prediction lines up with rumors we've been hearing from other sources. Rumors suggest that Apple might empower its tablet with a more enhanced camera, at least a 5 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, capable of taking both stills and full-HD videos.

Weins said that Apple needs to up their game on the iPad in terms of the graphics processor. Right now it's a dual-core, gigahertz-ish processor, but I think there are a lot of improvements down the pike for graphics performance on iPads, he continued.

Weins looked suspicious about Apple to go quad-core this year. He said that he would expect Apple to opt for a quad-core within two years.

A latest report by The Verge also said that the next iPad will be nearly physically identical to its predecessor. The device will sport an A6 CPU with a significantly more powerful GPU. However, A6 will not be a quad-core chip, but will remain dual-core.

Will iPad 3 be Thicker or Not?

Based on information gathered from insiders, The Verge said that even if the next iPad has the same form factor, the slate will be about one millimeter thicker overall.

iLounge's Jeremy Horwitz also said in January that the iPad 3 body would be a little bit thicker - about one millimeter thicker.

However, the purported iPad 3 back panel obtained by Repair Labs did not seem thicker than the iPad 2. There have been a lot of reports that said the iPad 3 would be a millimeter or two thicker than the 2, and according to our source, that could be false, Repair Labs said.

iPad 2 HD!

Suggesting that the next iPad could be an incremental upgrade, Weins said that he won't be surprised if Apple decides to name the device iPad 2 HD, instead of the rumored iPad 3. He even told that the fruit company should be more aggressive on price than on features with a $500 price point.